Northwest Territories

Photo: NWTT/Terry Parker

An incredibly vast region of wild landscapes, the NWT split into two separate territories in 1999. The eastern lands are now known as Nunavut. The western region, home to Dene, Inuvialuit and other northerners from around the world, is still called the Northwest Territories and is a truly spectacular place to visit by RV.

They call it the “land of the midnight sun,” where the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) illuminates the sky in eerie, other-worldly dancing lights.

During the warm months of summer, RVers can watch the sunset melt into a golden sunrise - there's up to 24 hours of daylight in June, July and the beginning of August! The long winter brings with it the Northern Lights, a galaxy of stars that make you want to stay up all night.

Most NWT parks and their services are open from May 15th to September 15th each year. The NWT has 34 parks, offering motorhome travellers plenty of places to stop for a picnic lunch or to stay overnight. The parks are divided into four categories: heritage, natural environment, recreational and wayside parks. The 17 recreational parks offer overnight camping, while other parks are for day use only.

You’ll find nature on a grand scale here—North America’s deepest lake, a park the size of the Netherlands, ice roads hundreds of kilometres long. And on winter nights, of course the aurora borealis. Make the pilgrimage in your RV to Yellowknife in hopes of catching a glimpse of the magical, mystical aurora in action. Other amazing options in this province include:

Visit communities north of the Arctic Circle, in the MacKenzie Delta and Mountains

Travel into the Nahanni National Park, over to the Boreal forest and on to the Canadian Shield and Barrenlands.

At the edge of the Arctic, in the heart of the wilderness, lies a city of youth, energy, adventure and prosperity. Take your RV to Yellowknife to fish, camp and escape. The largest town in the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife has little more than 18,000 residents, but although it's still 1508km to Edmonton and only 512 km south of the Arctic Circle, the small city is rapidly growing and modernising.